A Kryptonian In Flames
by Ficwriter93
Summary: after reckoning. Jor-el didn't to let Clark go back for Lana. One year later he hasn't moved on and suffers nightmares. One night a stranger makes Clark a tempting offer and the reward is huge. Will Clark accept? what will the consequences be? Switching things up and got this idea. R and R let me know if it's any good! Maybe clana ? Find out Smallville
1. Nightmares

Chapter 1: Nightmares

"Oh god, oh god he's coming after me!" Lana yells into her phone.

On the other end Clark tenses up, "Lana?" He calls back to her.

Lana looks over her shoulder nervously as she speeds down the road.

Lex chases after her in his Mercedes, he speeds up and gets beside her. He calls out her name desperately trying to get her attention. "Lana! Lana pull over so we can talk!" Lana looks over at him with a terrified expression. "Lana look out!" He cries.

Lana turns her eyes back to the road just in time to see a bus pull out in front of her. She screams and slams on the breaks but she's too late. Her blazer hits the bus at full speed, is T- boned and sent sliding across the road.

Back at the talon Clark drops the phone and super speeds to lobes bridge. He's too late, Lana is laying motionless on the road beside her car. He runs over to her. "Lana!" He cries desperately. He gets down on his knees and cradle's her head in his lap. "Lana! Come on Lana!" He begs. Lana remains lifeless and bleeding in his arms.

Jonathan Kent speeds up to the scene and his truck screeches to a halt as he slams on the breaks. He immediately throws his door open, jumps out and runs over to his crying son. He pulls Clark up off the ground and tries his best to support him. Clark calls Lana's name and tries to push his way back to her but Jonathan holds him back. "No Clark No!" He pleads with his son. "There's nothing you could have done, nothing!"

( One year later)

Clark jumps up in bed drenched in sweat and sore through out his entire body. He looks around trying to establish his surroundings. After a few minutes he realizes what's happened. "Another nightmare." He hears frantic footsteps coming down the hall and his parents run to his room.

"Clark?" His mother calls. "Clark sweetie what happened? We heard you yelling." Clark gets out of bed, walks to his bedroom door and opens it slowly. Martha and Jonathan are standing there waiting for him. Clark looks at them defeated and exhausted .After a moment of silence Jonathan speaks up. "It happened again didn't it son? You saw her didn't you?"

"Yeah dad, I did." Clark walks back over to the bed and sits down on it. "I'm having this nightmare more and more often. I can't keep watching her die all over again. I don't know how much longer I can take this."

Martha sits down beside her son. "There has to be something we can do." She says as she hugs him tightly. "Maybe we could find you a specialist, someone you could talk to about what you're feeling."

"I don't need a shrink mom."

"Clark it's been over a year since Lana's death and you haven't even tried to move past it. And these nightmares you're having are getting worse. Don't you want to put all this negativity behind you? You can't spend the rest of your life like this sweetheart."

"I can't move on! I've tried!" Clark stands up and walks to his bedroom window.

Martha looks over to her husband with a worried look on her face. Jonathan walks over and puts his hands on clarks shoulders. "Son." He lets out a sigh. "Maybe your mothers right. We both know how much Lana meant to you, but don't you think that she would want more for you than to spend the rest of your life locked up in here alone?"

Martha walks over and places her hands on top of Jonathan's. "She loved you Clark. She would want you to live a full and happy life, even if she couldn't be in it."

Clark turns around and embraces both of his parents. "I just loved her so much." Tears begin to roll down his cheeks. "I'd do anything just to hold her again."

Both his parents embrace him. "We know son, we know." Jonathan replies.

Down in the depths of hell a shadowed figure sits on a throne in a large dimly lit room. The figure Is slumped down in his seat and sits completely still other than a clawed finger scratching his chin. His eyes are closed and his head tilted towards the ground. After several moments of silence a voice echoes throughout the room.

" I'd do anything just to hold her again."

At the sound of this the figures muscles tense and a large pair of yellow eyes rapidly emerge from under his eyelids. "Anything?" His voice echoes throughout the room. A devilish smile creeps across his face and he begins to laugh maniacally.

Over the next week Clark tried to get on with his life. He buried himself in busy work on the farm. Doing the same jobs over and over again may be tiring but it helped keep his kind off of his loneliness. Nothing really brought him happiness anymore. Sure he still enjoyed the company of friends and family but deep down inside he was never truly satisfied, never complete. The worst part was the nightmares. It seemed he had them every night now. Every night he had to watch Lana die. He couldn't get any sleep and was exhausted all the time.

"I can't do it anymore." he kept repeating in his head.

It was Friday night. A time when most people Clarks age were out celebrating the weekend. What was he doing? The same thing he was always doing, sitting up in the loft trying to keep his eyes open. He didn't want to fall asleep, he knew if he did he'd probably have another nightmare. After jolting himself awake for what felt like the hundredth time tonight he glanced over at his desk and saw the picture he kept of Lana sitting prominently on it. He pushed himself off the couch, walked over, picked it up then sat back down. He ran his finger over her face.

"Why is this happening?" He asked her wishing she could answer him. "You were the best thing that ever happened to me. After all the struggles we went through we were finally going to be together." A tear welled up and ran down his cheek, after a few moments more followed. "Why did it have to be you? I never would have wanted you to pay for my resurrection. Why did the world have to take you away from me!"

"I can change that." A strange voice spoke

Clark jumped up and quickly surveyed the barn. There was no one else present.

"I could bring her back." The voice spoke again.

"Who's there?" Clark called out as he continued to search for the voice's source.

"Someone who can help you." It grew louder.

"Help me with what?" Clark asked hesitantly.

"The girl! You love her, do you not?"

"The girl?" Clark asked. He looked back over to the couch where Lana's picture was now sitting.

He walked back over to the couch, placed the photo on the table in front of him and sat back down.

"I must be hearing things." He said as he leaned back. "Nothing can bring her back."

"Oh but I can!" The voice spoke again.

"Really?" Clark chuckled. "So a disembodied voice I'm hearing in my head is going to bring Lana back from the dead hu? Ok. I must be losing my mind."

"Maybe you are, but that doesn't change the fact that I can help you. You just have to promise to help me with something in return."

"Oh really?" Clark exclaimed. "And what might that be?"

"Lets just say I have a problem that needs solving , your going to help me do that."

"I don't think that's gonna happen." Clark stated as he rubbed his eyes. " I don't know what's going on right now but I know it isn't real." Several minutes passed and nothing else came from the voice. Clark thought it had disappeared. He was wrong.

"Very well then!" The voice called out in anger. "Enjoy spending the rest of your life watching her die!"

Suddenly a white flash blinded clark and a vision came of Lana in the tornado. But this time it was different, he wasn't there to save her. He watched helplessly as she was thrown from her truck by the winds. "No that's not what happened, I saved her!" Another flash hit him and he found himself on the bridge where Emily had tried to kill Lana. Emily pushed her into the waters below. "Where am I? Why haven't I jumped in after her?" He watched as Lana drowned. "No!" He cried

The painful flashes kept coming each one bringing a vision of Clark failing to protect Lana. Every time he had ever saved her was undone and he was forced to watch as she died over and over again. Each time her screams grew louder and louder until they drowned out everything else. Clark buckled over and tried to cover his ears but it was no use, all he could hear and see was the woman he loved in excruciating pain. "Make it stop!" He cried out. "Please!"

"You know how to make it stop boy!"

"No! I don't even know who you are, I won't take your deal whatever it is!"

"Then this will continue!"

The visions kept coming but now they were getting worse. Now Lana herself was speaking in them.

"You couldn't save me." She said in one."You couldn't save me Clark." She cried in the next and the next and the next until she was screaming at the top of her lungs. "You weren't strong enough to save me!"

Clark stood up clutching his head and walked over to the barn window but another especially painful flash hit him and he fell to his knees. "I give up!" Clark yelled out sobbing. "I'll take your deal. Just please make it stop!"

"So that's a yes then?" The voice asked

Clark rubbed his temples. "Yes, but only if you'll show yourself." Several moments of silence followed. Clark remained there on the floor on all fours waiting for an answer.

"Very well then." The devilish voice finally answered.

Clark watched as the shadow of his desk lamp began to grow larger and stretch towards the edge of the desk. It kept going until it reached the floor and began to move towards him still growing in size. It stopped just before it reached him and suddenly started moving upwards towards the ceiling. Clarks eyes grew wide and followed it. When it reached a certain height it stopped and began to change. It slowly morphed and twisted and from it emerged the form of an old sickly man, his eyes glowed a bright yellow. Clark tilted his head up and looked on in shock.

After several moments of staring down at him the man spoke up. "We'll get up!"

Clark quickly stood up and examined the strange being in front of him. "How did you do that?" He asked. "Were you effected by the meteor rocks?"

The man scoffed. "Ha! No, my power comes from a source much older than your stupid green stones."

Clark looked at him confused. "Then how?"

"Ever hear of a little place called Hell?"

"Hell?" Clark looked dumbfounded.

"You know, fire and brimstone. Eternal darkness and all that."

"Yeah I know what hell is." Clark retorted.

"Well, see, I'm sort of in charge down there."

A small smile krept across Clark's face. "In charge? Of Hell?" He chuckled at the thought. "Well then I guess that makes you…"

"The devil, the deceiver, the prince of darkness, Mephistopheles, Lucifer!" The man yelled in a deep demonic voice.

Clark took a cautious step back. "No, there, there's no way that's true. It can't be."

"Really? The man asked. "You mean to tell me that with everything you've seen in this messed up little town, all the strange things you've done in your pathetic little freak life, that you can't believe that heaven and hell, Angels and Devils, actually exist?"

"I don't know what to believe. I don't know anything anymore."Clark rubbed his temples as he went to sit back down, but before he could Lucifer grabbed his arm and turned him around.

"Well here's what I know boy!" He forced his wrinkly, disgusting hand onto clarks forehead. The second it touched him a bright light emerged from under it and an incredible pain shot through Clark. The self proclaimed price of darkness kept this up as he spoke. I own you now! Until you fulfill our contract you will do as I say!

Struggling to speak Clark protested. "Contract? What contract? I haven't signed anything!"

"Oh but you will! Do you remember what I promised you?" He forces clarks head down to make him look at the picture of Lana. Keep our agreement and you can have her back!"

Tears begin to well up in Clark's eyes. "Agreement? What kind of agreement is this? Feels more like your forcing me!"

"Oh this?" Lucifer removes his hand from clarks forehead. The pain instantly stops. Lucifer examines his hand. "This was just to prove to you that I am who I say I am. I can't force you into anything, but I can see it in your eyes boy." He looks Clark in the eyes and points a lanky finger at his face. You're nothing without her, you would do anything just to be able to hold her again. You've already accepted my offer. Even if you refuse to admit it."

Trying and failing to hold back his tears Clark stares at Lana's picture. " Even if I did want to, I can't. If you really are who you say you are then I can't allow myself to be used as a tool for that kind of evil. You would just use me to destroy people's lives. I won't be a part of that."

"I have no interest in ending their feeble existence, they do that well enough on their own. Believe it or not I want to help them."

"You can't be serious." Clark gives him a confused look.

"Well not exactly. More like I want you to help them, by helping me. See a particularly nasty Demond has escaped from my domain and unlike me he doesn't care whom he hurts or kills. He's just happy to be out of his cage. I want you to put him back in it."

Clark looks at him in disbelief. "A Demond? And how exactly am I supposed to do that? I'm just a man, how am I supposed to compete with a monster from the underworld?

Lucifer chuckles as he walks over to the window. "Oh you are much more than a man."

"I don't follow." Clark replies in a dismissive tone.

Lucifer snaps his head around. "Don't be coy with me! I know exactly what you are, Kryptonian!"

Clark is taken aback. "How? How do you know about that?"

"Oh I know everything that goes on up here. Just because I live underground doesn't mean I don't have eyes and ears. I have them everywhere. There is no hiding from me, alien."

Clark slumps down on the couch and puts his hands over his face. "This can't be happening."

"Well it is." Lucifer exclaims angrily. "So you've got a choice to make. Save a lot of lives and restore life to the woman you love in the process, or watch as your entire world burns to the ground knowing you could have prevented it."

Clark looks out at the night sky and lets out a heavy sigh. "Fine. But I still don't understand how I'm supposed to stop this thing, it's a Demond, like you right? Even with my abilities I never stood a chance against you. How will next time be any different?"

"Don't concern yourself with that." Lucifer chuckled. "The power I'm going to give you combined with the ones you already have should be more than enough. Now get that little green rock out of your drawer and lets sign the contract." As he said this a burst of flames came from his hand and a rolled up sheet of paper appeared in it.

"What do I need the rock for?" Clark asked confused.

This contract requires a signature in blood and I know that's the only thing that can cut you. Now do it!"

"Fine!" Clark yelled and did as he was told. He cut himself with the kryptonite and allowed his blood to fall onto the bottom of the paper. "You said you're going to give me power, what kind of power are we talking here?" Clark asked nervously.

"I said don't concern yourself with that. When the time comes I'll call upon you and you'll see what I mean. Until then," Lucifer snaps his finger and Clark is suddenly wearing the leather outfit he often wore as Kal in metropolis. "Keep these handy, you're going to need them." Clark looks at himself in disbelief.

"Need them for what?" He asked in a weary voice.

"You'll see." Lucifer begins to laugh. "Now, get some rest, it's the last you'll be getting for a while."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Clark asks as he tries to stand up. Before he can the old man snaps his fingers again and Clark blacks out.

(The next morning)

Clark gasped as his eyes opened, he looked around to confirm where he was. "Still in the loft." He surveyed the room, everything seemed normal. "That was one hell of a nightmare." He thought to himself. "It seemed so real." He tried to brush it off but as he rose to start the day he noticed something odd, his photograph of Lana was on the table in front of him, not on his desk where it should be. He picked it up and walked over to the desk to put it back. As he did he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He was wearing Kal's clothes, just like in the dream. "What in the world?" He placed his palm on his forehead. "Come on get a hold of yourself." He told himself. You must have put this on and fell asleep in it. He shakes it off and heads down the loft stairs and towards the house. " get a hold of yourself." He repeats in his mind."


	2. The glimpse

**AN: sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. I'll try to get the next one out sooner. Just a heads up in this chapter Clark has a vision involving several people and they all have dialogue. All lines in italics belong to people in the vision. All lines that aren't in italics belong to Clark. Hope you enjoy!**

Chapter 2 The glimpse.

Clark rubbed his eyes as he roused from a very restful sleep. The first one that he could remember for a long time. As he got out of bed he stretched and walked over to his window to take a look outside. It was a bright beautiful morning and for the first time in a long time Clark wasn't feeling lonely. There was a since of peace about him that he didn't think he would ever feel again. Suddenly his stomach began to rumble. He turned and walked out of his room and down the hall to the stair case, as he walked down the last few steps he suddenly felt a jolt of pain in his head. He grabbed the railing for support, closed his eyes and winced. When he opened them something about the house was different, all the colors around him seemed somewhat faded and an ominous sound like a low hum rang in his ear.

Suddenly Martha walked from the living room into the kitchen and began working on a meal of some sort. Clark shook his head and walked over to the kitchen island. "Morning mom." He got no response from her. "Earth to mom, what's going on?" He asked confused, still no answer. "Hello! Mom can you hear me?"

After a moment of silence the door swings open and Jonathan walks in wiping his dirty hands with a rag. " _Well I think that tractors had just about all that it can take sweetie."_ He walks over to Martha and plants a kiss on her cheek. _"We're going to have to go pick out a new one."_ Martha looks at him with a frown on her face.

 _"I thought you said we don't have the money for that though_."

 _"We don't sweetheart, but we don't really have a choice now do we? I've tried everything I can possibly think of to keep that thing running but it just won't budge_."

 _"Well I guess we'll have to scrape something up then. Don't know how but we'll find away._ " Martha replied with a forced smile.

"Replace the tractor? We did that a couple years ago." Clark thought to himself. "The one out there's been running great ever since. Why does dad want to replace it?" Clark scratched his head. "Dad what are you talking about? The tractors running fine, I just looked at it yes-." Before Clark could finish speaking another voice interrupted him. It was his own.

 _"Let me take one more look at it dad. I'll head out there after I'm finished with this essay._ "

Clark turned around to see himself sitting at the kitchen table. He spent a few seconds looking back and forth between himself and the other Clark. "What?" He looked down at his hands and noticed that they had become transparent like a ghost, the rest of his body soon followed. "What is happening?" He walked over to his parents. "Mom, dad!" He tried to get their attention but they took no notice. "Mom! Dad!" Clark began to yell. "Can't you see me? Or hear me? Why won't you answer me?" He tried to put his hand on Martha's shoulder but as he did his hand passed right through her, like she wasn't there at all. His eyes widened as he examined his hand intently, again neither of them took any notice of his presence and continued their conversation.

Martha turned around and looked at the other Clark at the table. " _Oh don't be silly Clark, you know we have a guest coming for dinner."_

" _Mom you know how fast I am, I can have that thing fixed and get a shower in plenty of time_."

 _"Don't worry about it son_." Jonathan intervened. " _Today's work is already done. The tractor can wait till tomorrow_."

" _Alright suit yourself_." Clarks doppelgänger chuckled as he buried his head back into his books.

Martha began setting the table.

"Wait, I remember this." Clark thought to himself. "I remember this night now, but this happened years ago." Clark looked around at the ominous faces of his parents and his doppelgänger. "Is this some kind of dream? Or vision?" Puzzled he walked into the living room and went over to the couch. No sooner had he sat down than a knock came at the door. Martha walked over to answer it.

" If this is the same night I'm thinking of then that's got to be-."

 _"Well hey there!"_ Martha exclaimed happily _. "Glad you could make it."_

Clark turned his head to the kitchen and his eyes lit up at a familiar sight.

 _"Hello Kents_." Lana exclaimed as she entered the kitchen. She chatted with Martha for a moment before looking over to the table. " _Clark, hard at work as always I see_."

The doppelgänger looked up and shut his book. " _Hey Lana, just trying to get some homework done before we eat_."

 _"What ya working on?_ " Lana asked. She began to walk over to the table but as she did for a second she glanced into the living room, straight at the couch. A small smile crept across her face.

Clark looked back at her with a longing face. Their eyes had met, or at least he thought they had. Had she noticed him? Could she tell that he was there? If so then how? Apparently nobody else could. Clark stood up and walked into the kitchen. He watched as Lana sat down beside his counterpart and looked over the essay with him, she studied it intently and began speaking, but Clark couldn't understand what she was saying. The humming in his head seemed to get louder and louder with each step he took towards her. He stopped and stepped back to the other side of the kitchen.

"Can you hear me?" He softly asked staring at her from across the room. "Can you see me?" As if on cue Lana looked up from the papers in front of her and locked eyes with him again. "You know I'm here, don't you?" She said nothing and looked down at the papers again. "Lana." He called but she ignored him. He walked back towards the table. Another sharp pain shot through clarks head and a white flash briefly blinded him. As his vision recovered he noticed that everybody was moving very fast. It was like someone had hit the fast forward button. Everybody sat down and ate their dinner at lightning speed. Within a minute it was over and as Martha and Jonathan collected the dishes time slowed down and returned to normal.

 _"We'll take care of the dishes, you two go enjoy yourselves._ " Martha ordered.

The doppelgänger pushed his chair back and stood up. _"I know it's late but I wanna take a look at that tractor._ "

 _"Knock yourself out son, but take this with you._ " Jonathan tossed the dirty work rag at Clark. _"You'll need it._ " He chuckled.

 _"O.K dad thanks._ " He looked down at Lana. _"You wanna keep me company?_ " He asked

A large smile stretched across Lana's face. _"I'd like that._ " She replied, they pushed their chairs in and headed towards the door. The doppelgänger was first and walked right past Clark like he wasn't even there. Lana followed but when she reached where Clark was standing she stepped very close to him. As she passed her hand brushed against clark's and to his surprise he could feel it. He quickly tightened his grip and held on tight. Lana stopped in her tracks and turned to face him. "Lana." He pleaded, "it's me, I'm here." She looked up into his eyes and smiled. But she still backed away towards the door. "Lana don't go please!" She didn't reply.

Clark tried to hold on but for some strange reason he couldn't. Their hands parted and Lana opened the door and walked out. As the door shut another flash blinded Clark.

(vision over)

When he came to he found himself lying on the kitchen floor, he looked around, "All of the colors were back to normal and the humming in his ears had stopped. "Everything seems fine now." He thought as he pushed himself up off the floor. "What was that? It was like I was living a memory but somehow Lana noticed that I was there, or at least I think she did. How could that happen if it was a memory?" Clark rubbed his temples. "I'm really getting tired of all these vision and dreams, it's all so cryptic, what does it all mean?" He scratched his head and looked around, he noticed a piece of paper on the counter with his name on it, he picked it up and unfolded it. It was a note from his mom.

"Clark, your dad and I will be gone for the day. We've got some errands to take care of. We would've told you before we left but you looked so peaceful we thought it best to let you sleep. Try to enjoy your day sweetie, you deserve it. We'll see you this evening. Mom."

Martha was right. This was the first time in a year that Clark had felt truly at peace. Despite this what he'd just gone through had drained all of his energy. He felt weak and decided it would be best to go back to bed. As he slowly climbed the stares he thought about his vision and looked down at the hand she had touched. He could still feel the touch of her skin against his. That brought him a feeling of hope, even if it wasn't real.


	3. Up in flames

Chapter 3 Up In Flames

( that afternoon)

Clarks eyes slowly opened and he groaned as he rolled over onto his back, laying in bed he stared up at his blank ceiling pondering life. "I should probably try to do something productive today." He rolled onto his side and tried to get up but he felt too weak to even stand. "Well, maybe not" he groaned as he rolled back over. "Guess I'll just take the day off." As he stretched and closed his eyes a familiar voice rang through his head.

"It's time!" It yelled.

Clark's eyes shot back open and he suddenly felt an immense heat rising from within. It began in his chest and increased in intensity with every second. The heat brought pain, a pain like he had never felt before. His bed felt like an inferno, he jumped up quickly and walked over to his mirror, he looked at himself confused. He was in Kal's clothes again. "I didn't go to bed in these."

" I told you to keep them handy." Lucifer chimed in.

Suddenly his legs grew weak and he fell to his knees. writhing in pain he couldn't help but yell out. Now on all fours he watched as beads of sweat began to fall from his face. One fell onto his hand and immediately evaporated into a small puff of steam. Struggling to move he slowly brought his hand up to his face to examine it. "What is happening to me?"

Suddenly an incredible pressure built up inside his head and it felt like it was on fire. Drawing from past experience with his heat vision he knew this wasn't a good sign. He tried to push himself up onto his feet but the overwhelming pain inside made it nearly impossible. Finally he managed to get him self up and faced the mirror again, he noticed that his eyes were now glowing a fiery orange. he knew he couldn't move fast enough to get downstairs without burning the house down.

"Oh no! Whatever will you do?" Lucifer asked sarcastically.

Clark turned and looked at his bedroom window. While this wasn't the ideal choice he had no other option. Clutching his face with both hands he walked over to it struggling to take each step. Once there he gave into his exhaustion and allowed himself to fall forward smashing through the glass pane and falling to the ground below.

"Enjoy the trip." The dark prince chuckled

Clark didn't even feel the impact, he was already in so much pain. He couldn't fight anymore, his vision began to go black and he felt himself passing out.

"Oh I'm not done with you yet!" Lucifer yelled.

Just before he lost consciousness and even greater pain presented itself, again emanating from his chest. Unable to control his movements his back arched up and he let out another yell. As he did jets of fire shot from his eyes. It took several excruciating moments for this to stop so he could regain control of his site. He looked on helplessly as flames began to ignite from under his clothes, seemingly coming from nowhere. His shirt was disappearing under the flames and the black leather of his coat began to warp, bubble and crack from the incredible heat. He shook his head and looked again to make sure he wasn't seeing things, he wasn't. He wanted to try to stand so he began to roll over onto his stomach, as he did he pushed his fist into the ground for support. As his fist touched the earth several tiny cracks opened up around it and small flames sprung forth from them. Again he asked himself, " what is happening to me?"

"Did you not hear a thing I said boy? I told you this was coming!"

As Clark struggled to push himself up off the ground he brought his head up. His eyes were still drenched in a red hue but he could make out a blurry figure standing in front of him. As the figure came into focus he recognized it. "Lana?" He shook his head in disbelief. "Lana!" He called out to her but she didn't move at all. "Lana! What's happening? How are you here?" Still she said nothing.

"She can't hear you." Lucifer stated laughing.

Confused and frustrated Clark screamed at the top of his lungs but the voice that came out of his mouth was not his own. As he continued to call her name his voice deepened and took on a more animalistic tone and eventually became more of an indistinguishable roar. "Lana!" Clark reached out to her and watched as the flesh on his hand began to burn away exposing the boney fingers underneath. Again he examined his hand, opening and closing it until there was nothing left but bone. "How? How can I still move it?" He thought.

Lucifer continued to mock him. "Oh it must be magic!" He laughed

Clark looked down to see that the same was happening to the rest of his body, he looked back to see Lana, still standing there looking on. "Help me!" He cried.

"I told you boy, she can't hear you!"

He began to notice that as more and more of his flesh burned away the intense pain he felt began to subside. "How am I still alive?" He kept thinking. As the last of the flesh on his body disappeared for a few precious moments he felt no pain at all. "Is it over?" He asked looking himself over in terror, realizing he was nothing but a blackened smoking skeleton.

"No!" the voice of Lucifer rang out.

Now on all fours he felt he could finally stand up but the moment he tried another incredible pain erupted from his chest cavity. With his now skeletal hand he grabbed at the area where his heart used to be and noticed some kind of molten material spreading across his body. Within seconds it had coved his torso, arms and legs. It stopped at the base of his neck. Then a blinding light broke through the material and as it did the pain increased. Unable to withstand it any longer Clark slammed both fists into the ground and as he did a huge column of fire shot up from beneath him and engulfed him in the flames. Scared and alone Clark roared again, "Lana!" Then he blacked out.

( a few minutes earlier in town outside of the talon)

Martha Kent exited the talon with a fresh cup of coffee. She had just finished running some errands in town. She took in a deep breath and smiled at the feeling of the afternoon air entering her lungs. She looked up into the sky and arched her back in a stretch. As she did she turned her head in the direction of home. Suddenly a huge column of what appeared to be fire shot up into the air. Her mouth gaped open and her hand shot up to cover it as she gasped. "Clark!"

One of the townspeople ran up to Martha and put his hand on her shoulder. "Martha is that coming from your farm? What's going on?"

"I don't know but I've got to get home!" She shot over to her truck, jumped in and raced down the street. Once she was out of town she put the gas pedal to the floor and pushed her old truck as hard as it would go. She looked nervously in the rear view mirror hoping there wouldn't be blue lights following her, nothing, she was safe. She turned her attention back to the Kent house. There was still fire shooting up into the sky. "Oh Clark what happened? That can't be your heat vision acting up!"She thought to herself. She sped down the road and after several minutes she finally turned down the Kent farm drive. As she pulled closer she could see that the column of fire was coming from the side yard next to clarks bedroom. Luckily it wasn't close enough to catch the house on fire. She pulled up to the house and slammed on the breaks causing the tires to kick up dirt. She threw the door open and jumped out. As she ran to the side of the house she began to feel an intense heat, it grew hotter and hotter the closer she got. She stopped just close enough to be able to see what was going on. All she could see were the flames bursting from the ground. She could hear a faint noise coming from within them.

"Lana!" A strange sounding voice called.

"Lana?" Martha asked herself. "Did I hear that right?"

"Lana!" The voice called again.

Martha became more confused. "Who is that calling Lana's name?" She paused and a realization came to her. "Clark!" She began to scream. "Clark! Are you in there? Clark!"

"No!" The strange voice yelled as the column of fire quickly retreated back into the earth. Left there was a figure hunched over on all fours. She recognized the clothes as the ones Clark had worn when he became Kal. Thinking that her son had been the one engulfed in those flames she began to run to him.

"Clark are you ok?" She called out to him. "Clark answer me!" But before she could reach him the figure stood up and turned to face her. She was greeted with a vision of something that looked nothing like her son. It wore clark's clothes and a large black trench coat but there seemed to be no flesh on its bones. Instead its body appeared to be covered in some kind of molten rock. The only exception was the head. Where it's face should be there was nothing but a flaming, charred skull. It began to sway back and forth turning its head from side to side. As she looked closer, she could see a familiar diamond shape etched into the molten skin on its chest, it glowed yellow. It appeared to be a kryptonian symbol though it was one Clark had never shown her. She began to slowly step backwards away from the figure, but as she did it's body went rigid and it snapped its head to face her.

Martha froze out of fear and stared into the things non-existent eyes. "What are you?" She asked timidly.

It ignored her and instead cocked its head to the side as if it was perplexed by her presence. It then reached out towards her with its blackened hand, small drops of an orange liquid slowly fell from its fingers and scorched the earth as they splashed on the ground. In a strained low voice it spoke,"mo-ther." Sounding the word, out almost as if it was just learning to speak.

"Mother?" Martha quietly replied. "You're not my son." She spoke up. "What have you done with him?"

"Mo-ther." The monster spoke again.

"Where is Clark?" Martha yelled at it.

The monster cocked it's head to the other side as If Martha's words had confused it. It stared at her blankly for several moments, suddenly it shook its head aggressively. It did this a several times, pawing at its face as if it was fighting some sort of internal battle. Then it brought its fiery hand up and tapped on the side of its skull. "In. Here."

"What's that supposed to mean? Tell me what you've done to my boy! Tell me right now!"

Seeming to ignore her the monster stared out into the fields. It seemed to be focused on something. But Martha couldn't see anything.

"Look at me!" Martha demanded as tears began to roll down her cheek. "Did you hurt my son?"

The monster ignored her and continued its stare. After several moments it spoke again. "La-na."

Martha's expression changed from desperate to confused. "Lana? Wa-was that you calling her name in that fire? But how do you kno- Clark? Is that you? Are you really inside that thing?"

The monster shook its head again, grabbed its face with both hands, hunched over and let out a terrifying roar. A wave of intense heat erupted from its body. Despite this Martha tried to step towards it.

"Clark!" She called, but the monster stepped back each time she took a step forward. After three or four steps the monster planted its feet, bent down slightly and pushed off the ground launching itself into the air. It rose above the house, stopped and hovered in mid air staring down at her. Martha stared back in disbelief. It turned towards the sun, stretched out its arms and looked up into the sky. The Kryptonian symbol on its molten chest glowed brighter and brighter as it hovered there. It was almost as if it was drawing power from the sunlight.

Martha dropped to her knees and her hand moved up to cover her mouth as it dawned on her. "It is you." She gasped. More tears began to roll down her cheeks. "Oh Clark!"

The monster brought its arms and legs in towards its chest then threw them back out sending another wave of heat radiating outward, as it did smoke erupted from its back and formed what appeared to be a pair of torn and tattered wings. It stared down at her a moment more then turned its head to the sky, let out another demonic roar, and flew off into the distance.

Martha cried. "Clark, what could have happened to turn you into that-that thing?" She forced herself to stand, she could hear sirens wailing from down the road. "Someone must've called the fire dept." She ran into the house to call Jonathan.


	4. Reality Sets In

The sun rose slowly over the horizon and as it did light streamed in all directions. The insides of Clark's eyelids began to turn shades of red and yellow. He closed them tighter to try an block out the light but it was no use, he gave in and hesitantly opened them. He found himself looking up at a pink and yellow sky. He ran his fingers through his hair and stretched. "How'd I end up outside?" He wondered. Without thinking he rolled over to stand up but there was nothing to roll onto. He fell fast and hard, landing face first in the grass with a resounding thud. He rolled over on to his back and groaned. He looked up to see chandlers wind mill rising above him. "Well that clears up a lot." He stated sarcastically. "I think they made that thing taller when they rebuilt it." He spent a few moments standing up and brushing off his clothes."Guess I should get home." With a blast of super speed he shot off.

(A few minutes earlier)

Jonathan and Martha sat on the couch with worried looks on their faces. Jonathan is speaking with someone on the phone. "We've been looking for two days, we can't find him anywhere. I know, it's not like him to just run off like this. Mhmm, well we appreciate the help, if you see any sign of him one of us will be by the phone. Ok, thanks." He hung the phone up.

"Any luck?" Martha asked hopefully.

Jonathan sighed."Nothing yet sweetheart." He kissed her forehead. A tear ran down Martha's cheek. Jonathan wiped it away and gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't give up hope. He'll come home to us. He always does."

"Jonathan you don't understand. He wasn't himself. Whatever's happened to him it turned him into, something else."

"Martha, I know that Clark's changed somehow, but what you've described sounds impossible."

"It's the truth Jonathan! He was on fire! And his face it-it was gone, there was nothing but a flaming skull. It was horrible." She began to cry again.

"Ok sweetie." He brought Martha's head to his chest and ran his fingers through her hair. "Please don't cry." He kissed the top of her head. "It's just, how do you know this thing you saw was Clark?"

"It called me mother Jonathan!"

"Ok, ok."Jonathan conceded with a stressed look on his face. "Well regardless of what he looks like right now we have to find him."

At that moment the kitchen door swung open and Clark walked in. Martha turned around and gasped. "Clark!" She ran to him and threw her arms around him. "Oh Clark we've been so worried! What happened?"

Clark scratched his head. "I-I don't know, the last thing I remember Is feeling really hot, almost like I was on fire."

Jonathan gets up off the couch. "Well son from what your mother has told me," he walked over and put his hand on clarks shoulder. "You were."

Clark gave him a confused look. "What do you mean dad?"

Martha looked him in the eyes. "You don't remember?"

"Remember what? All I remember from today is waking up on top of the windmill in Chandler's field. What are you talking about?"

"Come sit down son." Jonathan ushered Clark towards the couch. "We've got some things to talk about."

Clark got a worried look on his face. "This can't be good."

(A few minutes later)

"So, I was actually on fire?" Clark leaned back and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Yes sweetheart."

"And my face, my face was a skull? And it was on fire too?"

"Mhmm" Jonathan confirmed. "I could hardly believe it myself but your mother was there, she saw the whole thing."

Clark turned to Martha with a scared look on his face. "Mom I didn't hurt you did I?"

"No Clark, I'm not sure if it was you or that thing controlling you, but I didn't feel threatened. It knew who I was." She gave him a small reassuring smile.

"And I've been gone fore the past two days?"

"We've been looking everywhere son, for a flyin fireball you were hiding pretty well."

"I was flying?" Clark eyes widened with shock. He exhaled and stared down at the floor in disbelief. "I hope I didn't hurt anyone."

Martha rubs clarks back sympathetically. "Clark we need to figure out why this happened to you. Is there anything you can think of that might have caused it?"

"I don't know mom." Clark replies. "I haven't fought any meteor freaks in a while, I haven't been having trouble with my powers, maybe this is something jor-el did. I'm sure he's angry that I abandoned him after Lana died." A sadness washed over him at the mention of his lost love.

"That's possible son." Jonathan chimed in. " but it's been a year now since that happened. If Jor-el was going to take revenge on you don't you think he'd have done it by now?"

"We can't put anything past him dad. Maybe I should go to the fortress and confront him."

"You're sure nothing else out of the ordinary has happened sweetie?" Martha interjected.

"I don't think there is an ordinary for me anymore mom." Clark ponders a moment. " I mean I'm an alien with super powers who can't get any rest because I have nightmares every night."

"You know what I meant Clark." Martha pleaded with worry in her eyes.

"I know, I'm sorry. Come to think of it I did have a nightmare that was pretty weird a few nights ago."

(Clark recounts his dream to his parents)

Jonathan scratches his chin. "So you're telling us that in this dream, the devil came to you and tried to make a deal with you?"

"Yes dad." Clark repeated In a frustrated tone. "I send this demon back to hell and in exchange Lana gets her life back."

"And then he manipulated you into accepting."

"Well not entirely." Clark shamefully admitted.

"What?" Jonathan exclaimed and shot an intense glance at his son.

"Dad I wasn't in my right mind okay?" Clark protested. "Yes he tortured me with visions of Lana dying, but even if he hadn't I would still do anything to get her back. Besides none of it was real anyway! Or at least I don't think it was."

Martha looked her son over with worry in her eyes. "What if it was though?" She stated timidly.

"Martha you can't be serious!" Her husband protested.

"Jonathan we all believe in the forces of heaven and hell and their influence in our everyday lives. Who's to say something like this couldn't happen."

"I know what we believe Martha." Jonathan replied frustrated. "I just never thought I'd ever see the day when something like this would actually happen in our world." Jonathan turned his back to them and buried his face in his hand.

Martha walked over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. "We never thought we'd see the day when aliens came to earth either did we?"

Jonathan exhaled, turned around and grinned at his wife. "Look where that got us." He chuckled as they both turned and smiled at Clark.

Clark however did not seem comforted by this. "If this is all really happening, then there is something seriously wrong with me, I need to figure out exactly what it is and how to get rid of it before it hurts someone."

"And how exactly do you expect to do that son." Jonathan asked. "This isn't the kind of information you'll find at your local library, and I doubt there's anything in the good book that could help."

A knock came at the door. "I might be able to help with that." A low rustic voice called through the screen.

Jonathan quickly walked over and pushed it open. "Robert!" He exclaimed.

"Jonathan, Martha." He tipped his cap in greetings. The visitor was an older gentleman but it was obvious he was still in good shape, tall and stout he sported a thick grey mustache on his face. He was dressed in a navy outfit and his jacket and cap displayed the badge of the local fire station.

"Nice to see you again." Martha stated.

"Nice to be seen again." Robert chuckled

"Well what brings you all the way out here?" Johnathan asked. "Would you like to come in? Have something to drink?"

"I'll get you some lemonade!" Martha exclaimed.

"Won't be necessary Martha, thank you though. Actually I came to check up on you two, wanted to see if there was anything else I could do to help find your son." He glanced over at Clark. "looks like ya found him on your own though."

Martha glanced over to Clark. "He came home on his own actually!" She chuckled nervously. " I suppose introductions are in order, Clark this is Mr. Robert Carter. He's one of Smallville's volunteer firemen. He responded to the incident we had here the other day, he also went to great lengths to help us search for you."

Clark walked over to the elder man and extended his arm. "Glad to meet you Mr. Carter. I really appreciate everything you did for mom, dad and myself."

Robert returned the gesture and the two shook hands. "Don't mention it kid. Happy to do my job and make a few friends in the process." A smile appeared from under his thick faicial hair.

"If there's anything we can do to repay you just let us know." Martha called.

"Oh no thanks needed ma'am." Robert called back. "If I could though I'd like to have a word with your boy here, hoping he can give me a little insight into that strange fire you all had. That ok with you Jonathan?"

Jonathan glanced over at Clark, as hard as he tried to hide it he was obviously nervous.

"I'll be fine dad." Clark interrupted. "If I can help Mr. Carter maybe he can prevent this from happening to anyone else."

Jonathan sighed. "Well who could say no to that?"

"You got a good one here Kents." Robert stated. "We won't be long." Clark stepped out onto the porch and followed him down the steps.

"So what can I do for you Mr. Carter?"

"I just have a few questions about that fire."

" I'll try and help but I don't remember anything about the fire itself, only the moments leading up to it."

"Well lets start there then."

"I was just waking up, I wasn't feeling well the night before and slept most of the day."

"Mhmm." Robert scratched his chin."

"I was still rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. I got out of bed and that's when everything went blank. I may have caught a glimpse of the fire but I don't remember." He replied trying to hide the growing tension in his voice.

"Understandable. You're absolutely sure you didn't notice anything strange? No sounds, or smells? Any little detail could help."

Clark gave him a suspicious look. "For a volunteer fireman you take your job pretty seriously."

A grin crept across Robert's face. "Let's just say I've been working with fire a long time kid. Humor me."

Clark hesitantly replied. "Like I said, I'm sorry but that's all I've got."

"Alright, I believe ya, but how about before the fire? You said you weren't feeling well, what did you mean by that?"

"I had a pretty bad fever, but I don't see what that has to do with any of this." Clark began to get nervous.

"That was no fever kid." Robert mumbled under his breath.

"What was that?" Clark asked firmly. He took a step back from Robert. "What are you talking about?"

Robert continued speaking to himself, as if Clark wasn't even there. "I didn't remember the first change either, not right away."

"Mr Carter!" Clark grabbed his arm. Robert turned and looked him in the eye.

"It was you." Robert frowned. "You made the deal!"

"Deal? I haven't made any deal, I have no idea wha-" Clark remembers his dream. "I-I had this weird dream the other night."

Robert grabs Clark by the shoulders and looked at him intently. "You saw a man, only it wasn't a man exactly."

"Yeah, he was old and sickly, and his eyes they were strange, they glowed-"

"Yellow." Robert interrupted

"Yeah, how do you know that?" Clark asked.

"That was no dream kid, I think we'd better go back inside. We've got some things to discuss with your parents."

Robert headed towards the porch and Clark hesitantly followed.

(A few minutes later in the living room)

Clark stood up from the couch, walked over to the window and looked out at the world. "So you're telling us it was real?"

"Yeah kid, believe it or not you had a conversation with Hell himself."

"And the part where he said he owns me, that's true too?"

"Seein as how your dumb ass made the deal, yeah, that's real too."

Martha and Jonathan both shot him angry looks. "Excuse me?" Martha spoke up.

"Oh I beg your pardon ma'am." Robert quickly apologized.

Clark turned around to face everyone. "So now I'm the devils slave?"

"More like a bounty hunter. Lucifer only creates riders when he needs something done. Did he say anything about what he wanted from you?"

"He said that a demon escaped from hell."

"And he wants you to put the animal back in it's cage." Robert finished.

"More or less." Clark replied.

"What'd he promise you In return?" Robert asked.

Clark frowned. "Well , there was this girl."

"Say no more." Roberts sighed and put his hand up. How long?"

Clark looked at him confused. "How long what?"

"How long has she been. dead?"

"Just over a year." Clark sadly replied.

"I'm sorry for your loss, but he ain't gonna bring her back."

"How do you know?" Clark retorted.

"Son, were talking about the devil here, you know who that is right?" Robert asked sarcastically. "The king of pain, lies and deceit. He preys on weakness, sorrow and loneliness. He takes advantage of people like you. He's gonna use you and throw you away when he's done. He's not gonna hold up his end."

Clark suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head and had a quick flash back.

"But, I saw her." Clark stated.

"What do you mean saw her?" Robert asked suspiciously.

"I remember now, or at least some of it. When I was changing into that thing, I saw her. She was just standing there watching."

Martha interjected. "When I got there he was calling her name from inside the fire. And when that creature spoke to me it said her name and looked off into the distance. It must have been looking at her."

"Whatever you saw, it wasn't her kid."

"Whatever, what's done is done, now I just need to figure out how to deal with this. I need to learn more about it. You talked about a rider, what's that? Clark asked.

"That thing your mother saw, that thing you turned into, it's called a ghost rider."

"What does it want?" Clark asked nervously

"The rider doesn't want anything, it has a purpose, all it feels is the drive to fulfill that purpose."

"And what purpose would that be?" Jonathan chimed in.

Robert turned to him and spoke a single word, "vengeance."

"Vengeance?" Martha repeated softly.

"A spirit of vengeance to be exact." Robert continued. "Over hundreds of years the spirits of vengeance were created. A righteous soul , a demon forced to do hells dirty work, some were even angels. All these souls were dragged down to hell, twisted and turned, tortured and corrupted and rebuilt into something else. Whenever Lucifer has a problem he needs cleaned up he sends one of them out into the world, the spirit inhabits a human host and a rider is born.

Martha listened to his words, her anxiety growing with each one. "And this spirit, is what causes the host to turn into that gruesome thing?"

"That's what happens when the rider takes control, it causes the host body to take on a much more, frightening appearance."

Clark took a seat as a couple more flashes hit. "I remember the flames, and the pain."

"Don't worry kid the more times you change the less painful it'll get." Robert chuckled.

"This is going to happen again?" Martha inquired.

"Oh yeah, your boy made a deal with the devil, he signed a contract in blood. Until that contract is fulfilled the rider will keep coming out. You'll have trouble controlling it at first, whenever the spirit senses even the slightest injustice, anything from a purse snatching to a murder you'll feel it. It'll claw at your soul, tear you up inside until you give in and let it out. Once you do it'll hunt the perp down relentlessly letting nothing get in its way."

"There's no way to get rid of it?" Clark pleaded

"Afraid not kid. Not till the deal's complete."

Clark buried his face in his hands. "This is unbelievable."

"You can't be serious!" Jonathan spoke up. "The devil's bounty hunter, really? Robert you've gotta be joking."

"I wish I was." Robert reached into his pocket and pulled out a disc. "You got a DVD player?"

"Uh yeah." Clark took the disc from him and popped it into the player. "Why do I get the feeling this isn't going to make me feel better?"

"Just play it." Robert ordered.

Clark hit the play button and the disc loaded up. Everyone focused there eyes on the TV screen.

It was a recording of the early morning news. The anchorwoman read out the first headline."Over the past few days there have been a string of rather violent assaults in the Smallville and Metropolis areas." Her coanchor spoke up. "Assaults? More like brutal attacks. Several victims have been found lying in the streets unconscious, one was found dead."

"The rider did this? I did this?" Clark asked.

"Keep watching kid." Robert ordered.

The anchor continued. "Upon further examination it seems that every victim was a criminal of some sort. Jimmy Matthews a small time thief, Keith Jackson a money launderer and even Theo Payne, the serial killer who's eluded law enforcement for months, have all fallen victim to these rather frightening circumstances. And that's just to name a few. It looks to me like there's a rather violent vigilante prowling our streets, and they are cleaning house."

"Violent may be quite an understatement." The female anchor continued. "From the coroners report and the reports of the hospitalized victims we've learned that each victims eyes appear to be burned out of their skull."

The recording ended there. Clark turned to Robert with a terrified look on his face. "Eyes burned out of there skulls?"

"It's called the penance stare. The greatest weapon in a riders arsenal. It looks down into the victims soul, digs up all the pain and suffering they've ever caused, and turns it against em, makes em feel it.

"So this is really happening then." Martha sighed.

Jonathan turned to Robert. "I guess we have no choice but to believe you, but that doesn't answer one thing. How do you know so much about all this Robert?"

Robert sighed and rolled his sleeve back a few times. "I know about it," he held up his hand and suddenly it burst into flames leaving nothing but bones. "because I've Lived it."


End file.
